JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Stress in education is the adverse reaction teachers have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them. Consumer digital technologies are already being used by teachers for stress management, albeit not in a systematic way. Understanding teachers’ experiences and long-term use of technologies to support stress self-management in the education context could produce meaningful insight into the value, opportunity and benefits of use.

Objective:

The aim of the study was firstly to understand teachers’ experiences of consumer technologies for their stress management. They were chosen by teachers from a taxonomy tailored for teachers’ stress management. The second aim was to explore whether their experiences of use evolved over time as teachers transitioned from working at home during lockdown to working full-time on school premises.

Methods:

A longitudinal study intended for six weeks in the summer term (2020) was extended due to Covid-19 into the autumn term, lasting up to 27 weeks. Teachers chose to use a Withings smartwatch or Wysa, Daylio or Teacher Tapp apps. Two semi-structured interviews and online surveys were conducted with 8 teachers in south London in the summer term, and 6 of them took part in a third such interview in the autumn term. Interviews were analysed by creating case studies and conducting cross-case analysis.

Results:

Teachers described that the data captured or shared by the technology powerfully illustrated the physical and psychosocial toll of work for the teachers. This insight gave teachers permission to destress and self-care. The social-emotional confidence generated also led to empathy for colleagues, and a virtuous cycle of knowledge, self-compassion, permission and stress-management action was demonstrated. Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic added a new source of stress, it also meant that teachers’ stress-management experiences could be contrasted between working from home and then back in school. More intentional self-care was demonstrated when back in school, sometimes without the need to refer to the data or technology.

Conclusions:

The findings of this study demonstrated that apps and wearables, chosen using a taxonomy tailored to enable strategic personal choice of consumer technology, generated data for teachers that was personally and professionally salient and motivational in the educational context. Covid-19 disruption meant that two distinct settings of home and in-school teaching were explored at length. These findings add to the value proposition of technologies for individual stress management pertinent to educators, policy makers and designers.